Category: Mason Votes

Mason Votes is Back!

It’s that time of the year again and Mason Votes is back!

Election Day is coming up in less than a month and Mason Votes is prepared to have students pumped up and ready to vote!

College-aged students are one of the most apathetic age groups when it comes to voting, but the last presidential election definitely turned over a new leaf. It got the masses excited. It got us excited. It got everyone excited!

So, in order to keep that excitement going, Mason Votes is coming back this year to raise voter awareness for Mason’s student population.

Come visit us at the Johnson Center -Tuesday, Oct. 26, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to have some free snacks (homemade brownies and such) learn about voter registration and become our fan on Facebook. Keep checking our website for more articles, news and updates about the coming mid-term elections in the next few weeks cause it’s bound to become a tough battle!

– Aisha Jamil

Special Election Tomorrow

Image via Wikipedia

Tomorrow a special election will be held for the position of the Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, in order to fill the position left empty by the departure of Gerry Connolly. Polling stations will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. throughout Feb 3.

All registered voters in Fairfax County are eligible to vote and can do so at their regular polling places. You can find out where to vote using the Where do I Vote site provided by Fairfax County.

The candidates on the ballot are:

Sharon S. Bulova
Democrat

Patrick Herrity
Republican

Carey C. Campbell
Independent Green

Christopher F. DeCarlo
Independent

Among the major issues is the county budget, the education system, transportation—including an expansion of the train system—and the environment.

Over 1 million residents will be affected by the election, though officials are predicting a low turnout to the event. Rokey Suleman, Fairfax County’s general registrar, cites fatigue from the presidential election and predicted bad weather as why voter numbers will be low.

Obama Speaks at Mason on Economic Crisis

President-elect Barack Obama gave an brief speech at George Mason University yesterday, urging Congress to act quickly in order to save the economy from a deeper plunge.

Obama said that both parties need to work together on an American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that will “jump-start” jobs and create “long-term growth” by making energy, education, and healthcare the government’s top priorities.

See the full article and video of the speech at Connect2Mason.

Rights of Conscience Live Blog – TODAY!

UPI’s Voice of Young Voters will be hosting a Live Blog, December 30, on the controversial “rights of conscience” ruling. This rule, recently issued by the Bush administration, enhances the abilities of health care providers to refuse services, such as abortion, based on their personal religious and moral beliefs.

The ruling has spurred contentious debate, with 13 state attorney generals joining Connecticut AG Richard Blumenthal in opposing the rule. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt defended the ruling, saying that “doctors and other health care providers should not be forced to choose between good professional standing and violating their conscience.”

Join the Voice of Young Voters featured bloggers, for a rousing live discussion of the rights of conscience. The Live Blog will begin at 6 pm EST on Tuesday, December 30.

Click here to Join the Live Blog!

Arlington Campus a Polling Location at Center of Vote

From Broadside:

Northern Virginia was at the center of the nation’s electoral process this Tuesday, and Mason’s Arlington campus was right there with it. Mason Arlington’s Original Building was the official polling location of those living in Virginia Square, Arlington’s Precinct #040, and many Arlington residents were exercising their right to vote on Mason’s grounds.

“We had a very strong turnout this morning,” noted Cheryl, the Assistant Election Officer at Precinct #040, who requested that her last name not be printed. “Over 1,100 people had voted in this precinct alone by about lunchtime. We were very excited by the turnout.”

Outside the polling place, the atmosphere was upbeat on both sides, despite the rainy weather. Large numbers of volunteers for both the Obama-Biden and McCain-Palin tickets were busily handing out sample ballots and making last-minute pitches for their candidates. The Democratic Party’s volunteers looked cheerful and confident as they encouraged those passing by to vote for Barack Obama. Those advocating for the Republican candidates handed out “Joe” stickers, a reference to John McCain supporter Samuel “Joe” Wurzelbacher, also known as “Joe the Plumber,” McCain’s symbolic representation of an aspiring middle-class American.

As with polling locations throughout the region and the country, election officials in Arlington expected a large turnout. “We were expecting the turnout to be substantial, and we think we handled it well,” said Kaye Anne Helmich, the Chief Election Officer for the precinct, and a 1980 graduate of Mason. “We expected the biggest rush to be in the morning, before work, and we were right. We moved them along quickly though, and processed the lines by 10:00.”

Asked about the increased number of younger voters in this election, she said it was a byproduct of the increasing population in the county. “Well, younger people have been getting more interested in politics over the past four years, I’d say, since more high-rises have been built in Arlington,” Helmich said. “The more people that move here, the more young people that seem to become interested in politics.”

Second-year Mason Law School student George Parker was more intrigued by the national media’s coverage of an election in Virginia. “I voted in the 2004 election as well,” he stated, “But this is just so much different. There were two massive news crews reporting from the polling place when I voted. It’s unreal, to see an election possibly decided by Virginia.”

As Helmich summed it up: “I worked the polls in 2004 as well. This election… you can’t compare this election to 2004. They’re just too different.”

Barack Obama Elected President of the United States

Barack Obama, senator from Illinois, has been elected to the Office President of the United States. Moments after Virginia’s Electoral College votes were called for Obama and the polls closed on the west coast, all major media organizations called the election in his favor.

In his concession speech, Republican Presidential Nominee John McCain said, “the American people have spoken and they have spoke clearly.” Boos erupted when Obama’s name was mentioned but McCain responded by holding up his hands in protest of their reaction. “His success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance,” said McCain of Obama.

After Obama was announced as the next president of the United States, an estimated 400 students gathered in an impromptu celebration rally outside Chesapeake. The rally moved across campus and gathered participants on it route to Presidents’ Park, Patriot Circle, and ending in the Johnson Center to hear Obama’s acceptance speech.

Students, many of whom were overcome with emotion, were screaming with excitement and chanting phrases such as “yes we can,” “Obama,” and “no more Bush.”

Live Video | Live Blog | Vote Vans | Student Reactions

Woodson High School Voting Lines Run Smoothly

by Kevin Loker
Mason Votes Correspondent

On a rainy day after a marathon two-year campaign race for the White House, George Mason University students registered on the Fairfax campus finally boarded vans to cast their vote.
“We’ve been running vans to and from W.T. Woodson since the polls opened,” said senior Student Government member Andrew Roth, who volunteered to drive one of the MasonVotes three shuttle vans, “and so has Students for Barack Obama.”
Though their name may sound partial, Students for Barack Obama did take non-Barack Obama supporters to the polling place. “We all have the same goal,” said Roth. “We just want to make it easier for Mason students to vote.”
During midday, many students said their long-awaited poll experience at W.T. Woodson High School ran rather smoothly.
“I didn’t have to wait very long at all,” said first-time voter and Mason student Brittany Higgs, “and they had some great little arrows to point you to the right place.”
Other students using the vans have responded similarly.
“Most of the students I have asked have gotten in out within around ten and fifteen minutes,” said Roth.
“I actually waited longer for the van than to actually vote,” said Higgs

Hacker Pulls Hoax on George Mason University Students

In the early hours of Election Day, a person hacked into the e-mail system of George Mason University, sending out an e-mail to the student body that claimed Election Day had been moved to Nov. 5.

The message was sent out at 1:16 a.m. from Provost Peter Stearns’s e-mail account. It read, “Please note that election day has been moved to November 5th. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.”

Stearns addressed the issue in a later e-mail that said, “It has come to my attention early this morning that a message was hacked into the system fraudulently stating that election day has been moved. I am sure everybody realizes this is a hoax, it is also a serious offense and we are looking into it.”

A Student Government member volunteering with the Voters Van project, running students to the local voting precinct, said that volunteers already had had to field questions about the e-mail.

“We just got one guy. He was like, ‘Wait, I thought voting was tomorrow,'” freshman Nicola Anderson, a native of Scotland, said. “We’re just putting it down by saying Election Day is always the first Tuesday in November.”

Student Government President Zack Golden thinks there will be consequences for the hacker.

“Whoever did that, when they get caught, they’re going to be in major trouble,” Golden said.

Some George Mason students who registered on campus forced to vote provisionally

Some students who registered on campus at George Mason University were not allowed to cast a vote today.

Freshman Katie Bredholt, 18, said she registered to vote on campus with a group of Obama supporters in early September. She was only allowed to vote provisionally today.

Bredholt, whose permanent address is in Texas, said after not receiving her voter registration card in the mail, she called the Virginia registrar.

“The registrar said, ‘You’re in the system- don’t worry about it-just bring your ID,'” Bredholt, a freshman, said.

At Woodson High School, the polling site for students registered at Mason, Bredholt waited and filled out forms. She said an official had a list of at least 15 other people that were able only to vote provisionally, and almost everyone on the list was registered at Mason.

“I feel like now my voice might not be counted and Virginia is a swing state,” Bredholt said. “My vote should count because I was registered.”

Bredholt’s vote now will only be counted if an Electoral Board meeting tomorrow determines that she is qualified to vote. Though Bredholt has the option of appearing in person to plead her case, she said she will not be able to attend because of her classes at Mason.

“I feel like if it happened to a lot of Mason students, they’ll recount it,” Bredholt said. “Everybody has the same story.”

From: UWIRE

Obama Concludes Campaign with Final Rally in Manassas

With less than eight hours before polls open and 24 hours until the polls close around the nation, Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama made his final campaign stop. The choice of Manassas, Virginia for this event is a testament to how important the state is to the campaign.

As expected, Obama touched on health care, the economy, taxes and rallied the crowed to continue their energy through to the end of the campaign. “We are less than one day away from bringing about change in America. In the last 21 hours…we can’t stop now, not when there is so much at stake. We are going to change America, Virginia, starting tomorrow,” said Obama.

Obama’s entire speech: